“Running Man” PD Im Hyung Taek Responds to Plagiarism Accusations

PD Im Hyung Taek of the SBS show “Running Man” has apologized in light of accusations that the show plagiarized a game from a popular Japanese variety show.

The plagiarism allegations came about after one of the missions on December 6’s episode of “Running Man” was a huge pinball game that required several people to maneuver paddles attached to the side. Some viewers noticed a similarity between the game played on “Running Man” and a game called “Korokoro Viking” that was featured on the Fuju TV variety show “VS Arashi,” which stars the popular J-Pop group Arashi.

On December 14, Im Hyung Taek talked to the news outlet Sports Chosun over the phone about the accusations. “There are times when we use images when we’re in planning meetings, and sometimes we are unable to check where those resources came from. This is likely what happened in this case,” he says.

“I can’t say anything specific in terms of plagiarism because I have not seen that Japanese show,” he continues. “But it seems that as the person in charge, I was not able to check things in detail. I sincerely apologize to our viewers for this. We will be more careful in the future.”

“Running Man” airs every Sunday on SBS. You can watch the latest episode below.